Eight children and a security guard have been killed after a young teenager took his father's gun to a school.
The Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs was informed of the tragedy at around 8.40am this morning after the shooting at "Vladislav Ribnikar" Elementary School in Vračar which is in the capital, Belgrade, The Mirror reported.
Authorities rushed to the school, where they discovered the 13-year-old boy - in his final year of primary school - standing in a field with the weapon.
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He started shooting during history class, hitting some students, security staff and a teacher, media reports have said.
Evgenia, a student in the school, said she mistook the sound of the gun for firecrackers in class, at first.
The horrified teenager stated: "I heard noises, I thought kids were throwing firecrackers.
"But then I saw that the security guard fell on the floor, and then I came back, I wasn't allowed to go upstairs."
The boy reportedly stole the gun from his father.
The number of dead is yet to be confirmed, but Evgenia saw a boy shot in the leg, another two males hit, and a girl also shot, as well as the slain security guard.
Some reports have said a teacher was also shot.
"I was downstairs, we had physical education, I heard gunfire, it was continuous... I didn't know what was happening, we corresponded through text messages, some children didn't answer and we were afraid..." Evgenia said.
Students were transferred to the gym during the incident, before being safely removed from the school.
"At first I didn't tell my mother, so as not to stress her, but then I told her that I was safe, she says little girl," she told a local media outlet.
Evgenia was in the same class as the shooter, who she described as "quiet."
She added that he had good grades. "He wasn't open with everyone, but I wouldn't expect something like this to happen," she said.
The shooting occurred in Vračar, an wealthy urban part of Belgrade decorated with a number of embassies and museums. Streets have been restricted while investigations continue.
Up to seven ambulances arrived on scene alongside terrified parents looking to locate their children.
Zoran Kesić, a Serbian comedian and father of a pupil at the school said: "I came in front of the school to see what was happening, because my child goes to that school [...].
"I don't know what to say, this is terrible, I'm very upset... Our children go to that school...."
Despite very few school shootings in Serbia, experts said that a number of weapons remain in the country after the wars of the 1990s.
Milan Milosevic, who said his daughter was in a history class when the shooting took place, told N1 television that he rushed out when he heard what had happened.
"I asked where is my child but no one could tell me anything at first," he said. "Then she called and we found out she was out."
"He (the shooter) fired first at the teacher and then the children who ducked under the desks," Milosevic quoted his daughter as saying. "She said he was a quiet boy and a good student."
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